|
|
for a simpler life
Much simpler. A life of liberty free of government.
By Jeff Bercovici
With all the talk in recent days of suitcase bombs and weaponized microbes, the temptation is greater than ever to quit your job, exchange your wing tips for hiking boots, and put as much distance as possible between yourself and the nearest skyscraper.
For most of us who make our lives in the glass-and-steel canyons, starting over in the wilderness will never be more than an idle fantasy.
But a hardy few will make it their reality, and for them there is Backwoods Home magazine.
Started in 1989, Backwoods Home promises "practical ideas for self-reliant living." That includes advice on everything from making elk stew and planting a survival garden to home-schooling children and resisting government tyranny.
The January/February "Special Preparedness Issue" contains a feature on biological and chemical terrorism, a column recommending that airline passengers wear body armor, and two articles on living without electricity.
Single copy sales of Backwoods Home, which has a paid circulation of 35,000, picked up within days of Sept. 11 and have remained high ever since, says founder and editor Dave Duffy.
Duffy says he last observed a similar effect during the scare over the so-called Y2K computer brouhaha, when much of the educated universe believed the world's computers were at risk of not making the transition into the year 2000.
"In the heyday of Y2K, our business went through the roof, and we're busier now than in the highest part of that," he says. "I think a lot of people after the attacks decided, 'Gee whiz, I feel less secure.'"
One thing you won't find in Backwoods Home is the flag-waving that became de rigueur for so many magazines after the attacks.
The magazine is not about patriotism but freedom--freedom from government.
The current issue contains an article titled "Living the outlaw life: Freedom tomorrow" and part eight of a series on "the coming American dictatorship."
Stories like these reflect the magazine’s staunchly libertarian politics. Duffy, a registered Libertarian and subscriber to Reason magazine, says his readers are big on gun ownership and property rights and not inclined to meddle in the moral affairs of others.
But the "libertarian/conservative" bent of Backwoods Home leads to its being ignored or misrepresented by mainstream media outlets like The New York Times, alleges Duffy.
"The perception of the media is that we are somehow suspect--that we are these right-wing, radical weirdos."
Weird the magazine may be to the typical latte-sipping Blue American, but it also has an invitingly homey feel.
Duffy, a former newspaper reporter and onetime technical editor for the Department of Defense, edits Backwoods Home from his home in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon. His wife, Ilene, is the magazine's business manager and proofreader. Daughter Annie proofs, writes and edits articles, and helps with layout.
Contributors frequently mention "Dave" in their articles, and two editors have met their wives through Backwoods Home’s personals.
Duffy writes a weekly column for the magazine's web site. In this week's edition he recounts the past weekend’s sledding trip with his children.
It's a far cry from other survivalist magazines like Soldier of Fortune and American Survival Guide. The latter went out of business a year ago and sold its subscriber list to Backwoods Home.
"They had a bazooka on every cover. We talk about guns, but to me it's a much more responsible context," says Duffy.
"Half our message is preparedness, and the other half is 'Move to the country because it's a nicer life.'"
January 16, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Jeff Bercovici is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
